MarcLarcher
I think that different publishers have different preferred styles. I’ve actually found an example of a publisher changing from syllabic breaks to rhythm breaks. This is Schott, in Tippett’s A Child of Our Time. The vocal score, published 1944, has syllabic breaks; the vocal score for the five spirituals from that work for a cappella mixed chorus, published in 1958, has rhythm breaks. (The text is in English, of course, but I don’t think that makes much difference). Also, publishers are not likely to re-engrave a score simply to change from one beaming style to another, so a lot of current editions of older works are printed from old plates, even if the covers have been modernised.
I prefer rhythmic breaks because it is much easier to see the main beats in the bar, which is precisely Elaine Gould’s point. This is particularly true where you have a lot of mixed quavers and semiquavers (eighths and sixteenths) in a long bar (measure). This style does make it crucial to have the lyrics accurately placed under the notes, with clear and consistent spacing, hyphenation and extender lines, but that’s part of the skill of the good engraver. Dorico handles this well, from my very limited experience so far.